Football

Tech Coaches Make Football A Success

By Amy Gunter

Just say the word "Spike", and most of the people in the South Plains
area know exactly who you are talking about. The Texas Tech head
football coach has made a name for himself by guiding Red Raider teams
to winning records and working with a group of outstanding assistant
coaches.

In the time Spike Dykes has coached the Red Raiders, he has established
a program that stands among the best in the nation. As a member of the
Big 12 Conference, Texas Tech has a 4-2 record, losing only to
fifth-ranked Nebraska and 16th-ranked Kansas State. A trip to St.
Louis to compete for the conference championship is a real possibility
for the Red Raiders. And, it's the coaching staff behind these numbers
that make success a reality.

Coincidentally, this Tech head coach was once an assistant coach at
rival Texas. He coached the Longhorns for five seasons and served in a
variety of positions. Dykes worked with Texas as the team appeared in
three Cotton Bowl games, two Astro Bluebonnet Bowl games and the Gator
Bowl. After leaving the Longhorns, Dykes took over the Midland Lee
program for four years.

Spike Dykes came to Texas Tech in 1984 as the defensive coordinator. He
worked under head coaches Jerry Moore and David McWilliams and helped
the defense lead the nation in pass defense in 1984. As the Red Raiders
prepared for the 1986 Independence Bowl, head coach David McWilliams
left the post and Dykes took over with two weeks until the bowl game.
Texas Tech football has not been the same since.

As head coach, Dykes' Red Raiders have made five bowl appearances,
including a trip to the 1995 Cotton Bowl for the first time in 56 years.
Dykes earned three Southwest Conference "Coach of the Year" awards and
won more SWC games than any other previous Tech coach.

Dykes is married to Sharon and has three children and four
grandchildren. One of these children is Rick Dykes, who also serves as
the Texas Tech offensive coordinator.

The younger Dykes has been a part of the Red Raider coaching staff since
1990. He started as the running backs coach, guiding Bam Morris to the
Doak Walker Award in 1993 and helping develop Heisman Trophy candidate
Byron Hanspard. Dykes worked under former offensive coordinator Dick
Winder for six years, helping mold a wide-open, explosive offensive
strategy. Following Winder's departure for Oklahoma, Dykes, a former
assistant at Rice and Temple, was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Among the offensive coaches, line coach Ted Unbehagen brings the most
experience as a Red Raider. Unbehagen has coached the scarlet and black
for 12 years in various capacities.

For the past nine years, he has served as offensive line coach, helping
Tech average about 30 points and 300 yards per game in 102 games. He
started his coaching career in 1964 at Texas A&I. After a tour of duty
in Vietnam, Unbehagen came to Tech for three years and helped the
Raiders gain berths to the 1972 Sun Bowl, 1973 Gator Bowl and the 1974
Peach Bowl.

Rhudy Maskew took over the running backs at the same time this year as
the blossom of Heisman Trophy candidate Byron Hanspard. Maskew has ten
years of Red Raider experience under his belt, coaching everything from
defensive ends and outside linebackers to special teams. He coached
All-American Mark Bounds in 1991. Maskew spent eight years coaching at
the high school level. After leaving Tech for one season, Maskew came
back ready to enter the Big 12.

"Working with young men brought me back," Maskew said. "The coaching
staff is a lot of people who have coached for a long time and care about
the same things you do."

After coaching all over the state of Texas, David Moody returned to his
native Lubbock in 1994. The third-year receivers coach has been
coaching since 1977, when he began his career at Lamar Consolidated. A
standout linebacker at West Texas State University, Moody coached eight
years at the high school level. He coached collegiatley at Angelo State
and Rice prior to coming to Texas Tech.

The brain behind the defensive strategy is John Goodner. The second
year defensive coordinator has established a nationally respected
program which produced two All-Americans last season in Zach Thomas and
Marcus Coleman. Currently, the defense is ranked 24th in the nation.

He spent 11 years at Big 12 rival Baylor, leading the inside
linebackers, before coming to Tech in 1993. Goodner says what has kept
him coaching all this time are the ever-changing demands of the job.

"It's like having a new job every season with new kids and new coaches,"
said Goodner. "Over 30 years, I look back at one year, 30 times. When
I think of 1985, I think of 1985 players. Each year is different than
the last."

Dean Campbell is no stranger to Longhorn football. While playing
college football at Austin, he helped the team win league titles and two
national championships. With the knowledge he gained in the defensive
backfield, Campbell coaches the Red Raider secondary. He helped Tech
finish third nationally in pass efficiency in 1994 and 1995. Campbell
started his coaching career at Texas A&M in 1973 and had stints at New
Mexico, Texas, North Carolina and Rice. While at New Mexico, he served
as secondary coach under defensive coordinator Spike Dykes. Campbell
came to Tech in 1992, guiding the inside linebackers before moving to
the secondary.

In his third year at Texas Tech, outside linebackers coach Larry Hoefer
is ready to help the Red Raiders take the Big 12. Prior to coming to
Lubbock, Hoefer coached at Missouri for six years, where he served as
defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Hoefer played at
McMurry University in Abilene, earning all-conference honors as a
defensive back.

Last season, Hoefer helped Marcus Coleman receive All-American honors in
his first year as a full-time Tech coach. His current outside
linebackers -- Robert Johnson and Jody Brown -- have provided Tech with
big plays week-after-week this season.

A 10-year veteran of Texas Tech football, Doyle Parker is in charge of
the defensive ends and has two of the best this season in Tony Daniels
and Montae Reagor. While at Tech, Parker has coached linebackers, tight
ends and defensive ends, as well as serving as recruiting coordinator.

Parker began coaching in 1959 at nearby Hale Center and has found
success at various high schools all over the state of Texas, including
Abilene Cooper, Big Spring, Devine, Bellville, Pearland and Mayhe Creek.
Parker coached the quarterbacks at Rice and moved to defensive
coordinator at Lamar University. Parker came to Tech in 1986 and enjoys
the coaching staff he works with on a daily basis.

"Being around a coaching staff like we have now makes it fun to come to
work each day," Parker said. "Spike lets you do your job -- he's a
great guy to work for."

The veteran of the staff, defensive tackles coach Dean Slayton is in his
16th season with the Red Raiders. Nicknamed "Sarge," Slayton played
college football at Tyler Junior College and Tulsa. He began coaching
in 1958 at Tulsa. He coached nine years on the high school level before
working at UT-El Paso. He served as assistant coach at Howard Payne,
and his 1973 team was ranked seventh nationally in the final NAIA poll.
He moved to athletic director before going to North Texas State for two
years. Slayton came to Tech in 1981 with Jerry Moore, and has helped
the Tech defense climb to the national level.

Combined, Tech's assistant coaches have 69 years of experience coaching
the Red Raiders. Such commitment and loyalty has transformed into
success on the field during Spike Dykes 10 years as head coach.

Raiders Look to Beat Texas, Lead Big 12 Southern Division

LUBBOCK, Texas -- A third-consecutive sellout crowd is expected to fill
Jones Stadium Saturday to witness the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-3, 4-2)
take on the University of Texas Longhorns (4-4, 3-2) in a battle for the
lead in the Big 12's South Division.

The Red Raiders, who two weeks ago nipped rival Texas A&M 13-10 in
College Station, are fresh off a bye week, the timing of which could not
have please head coach Spike Dykes more.

"Most of our guys will be back in gear this week, ready to go," said
Dykes.

The Longhorns narrowly defeated the Baylor Bears 28-23 after leading
21-0 at one point.

The Raiders, currently one-half game in front of the Longhorns in the
Big 12 South, have never sold out three straight games in one season.

"Football is more fun to play when you've got a crowd," said Dykes. "Our
student body has been unbelievable -- we've had great support."

The Longhorns defeated the Red Raiders 48-7 last year in Austin.

The winner of Saturday's game will be heavily favored to win the Big 12
South Division and advance to the Big 12 championship game Dec. 7 in St.
Louis.

Tech has a non-conference home game against Southwest Louisiana before
heading to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners.

Texas still has conference games at Kansas and home against Texas A&M.

"This game against Texas is of major importance," said Dykes. "It's sort
of a winner-take-all deal. It's a big game for both of us."

Dykes downplayed the factor revenge might have on the game.

"I'm not a revenge guy," said Dykes. "Football is not a place for
revenge. [Controlling your own destiny] is what you play for -- that's
the reason you play is to play in big games."

The last time the Longhorns played in 50,500-seat Jones Stadium, a
tenacious Tech defense shut down a powerful `Horn offense, and the Red
Raiders won 33-9, the biggest Raider win ever in the series.

Stastically, the two teams are evenly matched, at least offensively. The
Raiders enter the game with the nation's leading rusher in junior I-back
and Heisman Trophy candidate Byron Hanspard. Hanspard's 201.4
yard-per-game average has keyed the Red Raiders to the nation's
sixth-best rushing offense.

Overall, the Raiders rank 25th in total offense. The Longhorns,
meanwhile, rank 24th in total offense with a balanced attack.

Defensively, though, the Red Raiders have a definite edge. The Raiders
are ranked 24th in the nation in total defense and 21st in scoring
defense, giving up an average of only 16.8 points per contest. The
`Horns are ranked 64th in total defense. It is on the ground, too, where
the Longhorns struggle, giving up an average of 203.4 rushing yards per
game to rank 86th nationally.

The Red Raiders, despite playing four opponents who were ranked at the
beginning of the season, have not given up more than 24 points to an
opponent all year.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised by Fox
Sports, the 10th time in the past 11 games that the Raiders have been
on television.

Hanspard and Daniels Are Semifinalist For Player Of The Year Awards

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech junior football players Tony Daniels and
Byron Hanspard have been included as semifinalists for national player
of the year awards, it was announced today.

Daniels, a 6-5, 249-pound defensive end from Odessa, is listed as one of
23 semifinalists being considered for the 1996 Bronko Nagurski Trophy
for the college defensive player of the year. Voted on and awarded
annually by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), this
year's balloting is underway with the five finalists to be announced on
November 27. The winner will be announced on Dec. 16 at the Adam's Mark
Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

Hanspard, a 6-0, 193-pound tailback from DeSoto, is one of 15
semifinalists for offensive player of the year honors by Football News
magazine. Selected the publication's editorial staff, Football News
will trim the list to five finalists on Friday, November 22. The
official announcement of the winner will be made on Tuesday, December 3
in Detroit.

Daniels has 51 tackles this season, including nine tackles for loss and
three sacks. He also had two key sacks to preserve a 13-10 Texas Tech
win at Texas A&M last weekend. Daniels missed last season due to a knee
injury suffered in a preseason swimming accident. He was a preseason
all-Southwest Conference selection prior to the 1995 season.

Hanspard, a candidate for the Heisman Trophy and Doak Walker Awards, is
the nation's second-leading rushing with an average of 201.4 yards per
game. He has rushed for over 100 yards in 14 consecutive games and,
after just eight games this season, is already second on the single
season and career rushing charts at Texas Tech. Hanspard has surpassed
the 200-yard barrier four times this season and owns 1,611 total yards
rushing.

Texas Tech is 5-3 on the season and is 4-2 in the South Division of the
Big 12 Conference. The Red Raiders are off this weekend before playing
rival Texas on Saturday, November 9 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports.